Virus
by yay-for-names
Summary: Ichigo is overwhelmed by fighting hollows at all hours of the day and night and collapses in his inner world where Shiro helps him get better. - - uugh my summaries suck. just try reading it please?


A huge thank you goes to Cyanide-And-Strawberries for getting my off my ass and writing this story again.

This is set after the final battle with Aizen. Ichigo has not lost his powers in this fic, otherwise there would be no fic.

* * *

Hollow! Hollow! The badge screamed out in class. Ichigo groaned. The badge never seemed to stop going off nowadays. He hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in weeks.

Ichigo yawned as he flashstepped towards the hollow's spiritual pressure. It was easier for him to sense hollows than everyone else, even his family. He blamed it on Shiro's influence on his body and mind. His skin had turned a shade lighter and his hair grew a little longer. Those changes he could deal with, but what really pissed him off was the fact that his eyes now held flecks of his hollow's poisonous gold. He shook his head to clear it and focused on the task at hand. He could beat up Shiro after he killed this hollow and got a good night's sleep.

Ichigo yawned again as he drew Zangetsu and landed in front of the hollow. It was just a normal flying hollow. Maybe one special ability unique to it, but still easy to deal with. It should take him a couple of minutes at most.

Ichigo leaped into the air and slashed at the hollow's mask, hoping to kill it with one shot. The hollow dodged the weak attack and retaliated by throwing senbon-like feathers at him. Usually he would have been able to dodge all them, but in his exhausted state, a few got through his defense and pierced his shoulder, stomach, and calf. With the pain came a renewed sense of energy, and Ichigo quickly shunpoed in front of the hollow and cut open the mask. As it dissipated with a cry, Ichigo gritted his teeth and pulled out the needles embedded in his body, adrenalin dulling the pain.

As he was shunpoing back to his body and his bed, he was starting to get light- headed and his body felt like lead. Attributing this to his exhaustion, he sped up a little, trying to get to his bed so he could sleep. As he continued on, it only got harder to move so by the time he got home he was ready to drop. And as he entered his room, drop he did, retreating to his inner world.

In his inner world, his energy was little better. He took two steps forward and fell, barely conscious and unable to move.

* * *

Shiro was worried, not that he would ever admit it. His aibou was driving himself to the bone trying to balance school and protecting is town and he was at his breaking point. So when his aibou entered his inner world, Shiro immediately used his fastest sonido to get over there and knock some sense into him. He arrived just in time to see Ichigo fall.

**"Ichigo!"** Shiro rushed over to him and cradled his aibou's head in his lap. **"What happened? Are ya alright?"**

"Shi… Shiro…." Ichigo struggled to stand up, and not getting anywhere with it.

**"Easy there, aibou. I'm not here to hurt ya,"** Shiro placated. Ichigo hesitantly stopped struggling to stand, loath to show his hollow any weakness. **"Just sleep, King. I won't let anything happen ta the town while ya rest."**

Too exhausted to protest, Ichigo just closed his eyes and sighed.

"Mmmm… Shi… you're warm…" Ichigo mumbled as sleep claimed him. Tiny tremors ran through his body.

Shiro blinked in surprise. Not only had Ichigo willingly given him control of their soul for the time being, aibou had said that he was warm? Something wasn't right here. Hollows' body temperature is naturally several degrees colder than humans' or shinigamis'. He laid a black-nailed hand on Ichigo's forehead and frowned when he found it to be cold. Something was definitely wrong. He was going to go to the Urahara Shoten and the one person who might be able to figure this out.

Shiro carefully laid Ichigo's head on the skyscraper and faded out of this world to take control of Ichigo's soul.

He opened his eyes to find himself on the floor in Ichigo's room. Grumbling to himself about clumsy idiots, he picked himself up and jumped out the window. He decided to leave Ichigo's body on the bed for the time being.

Shiro let his mind wander as he sonidoed to the Urahara Shoten. Something was wrong with his aibou beyond just normal exhaustion. He should have been able to make it another day or two before collapsing like that. The way his reiatsu was guttering like a dying candle wasn't a comforting thought either. Shiro was jolted out of his thoughts by a blade at his throat.

"We find some time off from the Seireitei and come here to visit Ichigo, and instead we get you," Rukia said from behind Renji, who was holding Zabimaru to Shiro's throat.

"Why did Ichigo let you out?" Renji growled.

**"Don't get yer panties in a twist, Pineapple Head,"** Renji twitched at the hollow's nickname for him. **"I'm just takin' care of hollows for 'im."**

"Why?" Rukia questioned. "He was doing just fine by himself before."

**"Che. Yer forgettin' one crucial detail. Ichigo is still alive. 'e still 'as a human life; 'e's still in school. He has to deal with homework and all the hollow attacks at all hours of the day and night. He's hardly gotten any sleep in the past few weeks! He's exhausted!"**

Renji stepped back, satisfied for now with the hollow's answer.

"Will you wake his lazy ass up? We only have today and tomorrow off."

**"Ya gotta say please!"** Shiro sing-songed, just to piss the red pineapple off.

"Please," Renji growled.

Shiro closed his eyes and focused his attention inwards and mentally prodded Ichigo.

**'oi, aibou. The Pineapple Head and Snow Queen are here to see ya'**

No response.

**'Hey, don't ignore me!'**

…

**'Aibou?'**

…

**'Aibou!'**

…

**'AIBOU!'**

… still no response.

**"… Fuck,"** Shiro said as he opened his eyes. **"He's not wakin' up."**

"What do you mean 'not waking up?'" Renji demanded.

**"Exactly what I say! I'm stoppin' just short o' goin' in there and yellin' in 'is ear!"**

"That isn't good," Rukia said. "We need to get him to Urahara's."

**"That's where I was headed. Something's not right about this whole situation."**

"What do you mean," Rukia asked, confused.

**"Even with king as exhausted a he was, he should have been able to keep going for another day or two before collapsing like that. Plus, he was cold."**

"What does that have to do with anything?" Renji asked, as usual, being an idiot.

**"We hollows are naturally colder than humans or Shinigami. He felt cold, even ta me…"**

"We need to go." Rukia said.

**"I'm goin' back ta tha' inner world ta see what I can do there."**

As he said that, the mask fragment over his left eye crumbled away and color returned to Ichigo's soul as he fell.

"Damn hollow," Renji grumbled as he threw Ichigo's soul over his shoulder.

"Let it go, Renji," Rukia admonished. "We have bigger things to worry about now."

* * *

Shiro had once again allowed Ichigo to use him as a pillow. Ichigo unconsciously snuggled into him, tremors still wracking his body.

**"What's wrong with ya now, Ichigo?" Shiro mumbled to himself. "Why won't ya wake up?"**

Shiro ran a hand through Ichigo's wild orange spikes in an effort to calm down the teen's trembling. It seemed to be working, along with waking Ichigo up.

"Nnnn… Shiro?" Ichigo's eyes blinked open, sight hazy from sleep.

**"Ya feelin' alright there aibou? Ya gave us quite the scare."**

"Huh? What happened?"

**"On my way over to Urahara's I ran into tha Yuki no Kisaki(1) and Pinapple Head. They wanted to talk to you but ya wouldn't wake up. We're probably at the shop by now."**

"Rukia and Renji are here?" Ichigo asked, familiar with is hollow's nicknames for his friends. "And why am I laying on you?" A light blush stained his cheeks.

**"Well ya seemed ta like me more than tha glass, aibou."** Shiro grinned.

"… Yeah, thanks Shiro." Ichigo looked up at the sky. "I should get out there, they're probably worried about me."

**"Good idea. They didn't seem thrilled ta see me. Pineapple head greeted me with a blade ta tha throat."**

"Really?" Ichigo started sitting up. "I'll talk to them abou-" He abruptly cut off and started coughing up blood.

"**Ichigo! Damn it ya stupid king, what did ya do now?!"**

"I don't… know," Ichigo managed to get out between coughs. "I… was just… sitting up… and… it hurts…"

**"Hang in there, aibou. I'll be right back."**

"Where are… you going?"

"Lettin' Urahara know about this. I can stay if ya want."

"Go…" Ichigo nodded. "I'll be fine"

Shiro quickly took control of their soul and snapped their eyes open. He found himself in one of the rooms of the Urahara Shoten with everyone staring at him.

**"I've got good news and bad news."** Shiro said, sitting up. **"Good news is that he's awake."**

"Well if he's awake then why isn't he out here instead of you?" Renji interrupted.

**"If ya would let me finish,"** Shiro glared at Renji and was pleased to see him lean back a bit. **"The bad news is that he's coughing up blood. His reiatsu was going nuts too."**

"Any ideas Urahara?" Rukia asked the 'humble shopkeeper.'

"Some but I need to know the full story."

**"You guys tell him what ya know. I ain't got the time ta spend lounging around 'ere."** With that, Shiro returned to the inner world.

He found Ichigo on his hands and knees, body visibly shaking and still hacking up blood.

**"You'll be alright, aibou. Urahara's workin' on figurin' out what's wrong wit' ya."** Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder and kneeled down beside him.

"Heh" Ichigo grinned weakly. "I'm not going to die just yet. You know I'm too stubborn for that." He passed out.

Shiro caught him before he fell into a pool of his own blood and checked to see if he was still cold. He was. Shiro pulled his aibou's body close and wrapped his arms around him hoping to warm Ichigo's body at least a little. His body, shivering from coughing up blood relaxed against the warm body pressed against his back.

Shiro felt Ichigo's body relax and sighed into his hair. He leaned against the wall behind him that has been placed there for the author's convenience and closed his eyes. He fell asleep with his precious aibou held close.

* * *

1 Rukia's nickname means snow Queen

As I'm sure you all can tell by now, I am a Shiro/Ichi yaoi fangirl. This will not go any further than a little cuddling, mostly because I suck at writing anything more than that. I have tried. I disgusted myself with how bad it was.

Ichigo obviously has a better relationship with his hollow here than in canon. Everyone looks like they do post time skip and both Rukia and Renji are fukutaicho and have been tied up in Soul society for the last few months. They have been keeping tabs on Icigo through Kurotsuchi's real world monitors.

Reviews get cookies!


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